How I landed at IIM Amritsar

I clearly remember the date. It was on 3 June 2019. I got a mail stating that the PGP offer list is available on the official website. My heart skipped a beat. I was wondering how is this possible? I just gave the interview in New Delhi on 29 May. It was hardly a matter of 4-5 days and results were out! Well, I wasn’t aware of the quick and efficient approach of this B-school back then. With hands trembling, I opened the website and within a few minutes, I was just jumping with excitement. Why not? I had converted the holy IIM. I informed the result soon to my mother who became emotional too. To this day, I am unable to digest the fact that I am studying in an IIM college and now applying for the Media and Public Relations Cell of IIM Amritsar. Well, it’s often said that people just notice the success, no one observes the hard work, patience, perseverance and will power required to climb the ladder to success. So let me tell you about my journey to IIM Amritsar.

Attempt 1:                                                                                              

Location- Aligarh (Hometown)         

My ‘relationship’ with CAT started way back in 2016. I was already selected in the IT giant- Tata Consultancy Services but there was a delay in my joining since the intake that year was too high and so the associates were called in batches. So, I decided to give a healthy shot at CAT. I prepared vigorously, however, destiny had different plans for me. On D-day, I screwed up the LR-DI section. Confessing honestly, I would like to admit to the fact that I was completely taken aback by the difficulty of that section. I hadn’t prepared for such a level of difficulty. As a result, I scored a mere 89 percentile that year and obviously, it wasn’t enough.

Attempt 2:               

Location-Bangalore                                                                                                   

I was working on a nice project in Bangalore in 2017 and the workload also wasn’t too much. So, I decided to give it another try to CAT. This year, I decided that I wouldn’t let LI-DI screw me over. So, I prepared a wide variety of questions for LR-DI. Normal preparation for Verbal and Quants followed. D-day came again. I gave my best and was hoping for the best. I expected something above 95 this time. However, I was both shocked and surprised when I got a mere 92 percentile. I couldn’t believe the results. I thought there is some technical glitch and I checked again and again and again. Still 92 percentile. All my dreams came crashing down. There are certain times in your life when your tongue gets tied and you wish that dinosaurs are still alive.

Attempt 3:     

                                                                                                                        

Location-Gurugram

The journey wasn’t over yet. However, a supreme dilemma was hanging around. My mind was telling me not to give another attempt. However, my heart was in the opposite direction. ‘Give one last try-Give it all’. So, I followed my heart. I had already taken a transfer to Gurugram. However, this time the workload was too much. The project was in a very critical stage which required us to be present on Saturdays and Sundays as well. Despite all this, the preparations were in full swing and I wanted to bell the CAT this time. I took two week’s leave before CAT and went home. However, tragedy followed. My mother got dengue but by god’s grace, she recovered in 8-10 days. I returned to Delhi and gave CAT. Things went well and I was optimistic this time. By God’s grace, I got 96.6 percentile this time.

I converted IMT Ghaziabad, IIM Jammu, IIM Bodhgaya, IIT Kanpur, IIM Amritsar and was waitlisted in some of the IIMs as well. At this stage, I was super confused as to which one to join between these options. Finally, the selection came down to two of the above choices- Kanpur or Amritsar. I did a lot of research and asked so many people and finally, I decided to go for the holy IIM.

So, I am here at IIM Amritsar now. I hope that I can learn the intricacies of the management field here and further utilize my skills to embark an organization towards development.